Whilst everyone seems to acknowledge that there are problems with GDP as a measure of (changing) economic activity, there are no clear ways out of the difficulty. For example, whilst pollution may be, generally speaking, a bad thing, it can be good for GDP if clearing it up generates economic activity, which it usually does.
It was good, therefore, to read "The trouble with GDP" in last week's Economist where the origins of the idea were explained, and all (well, a lot of) its problems were explored. It was, however, of limited use to me. Rather like a man being lectured to on his lack of moral standing, one failing at a time, I now know more about what's wrong with GDP, but little more about what might now be done: better informed, but not much the wiser.
It seems that, although it may be present imperfect, it will be difficult to make it perfect in the future. That said, continuing to think about how GDP is measured, and what it is supposed to measure, will be of use to all those thinking about sustainability and the economy, and of interest to A level students in schools taking the environmental sciences.
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